anchor: this is d.w. news live from berlin. germany's chancellor says she is cautiously optimistic about sealing a deal with turkey. angela merkel and other leaders are meeting in brussels for a magic summit. they are trying to hammer out a controversial agreement to halt the massive flow of refugees into europe. also on the show, berlin shuts its embassey in ankara, its consulate in istanbul and schools in both cities after a concrete threat, that days

after a suicide threat in the turkish capital. the former brazilian president sworn in as chief of staff. moments later, a judge suspends the appointment as he was given the post to protect him from corruption charges. i'm brian thomas. welcome to the show. a mainly e.u. turkey summit is underway in brussels to try to find a way out of the migration crisis facing europe. negotiations are set to be very long and very complicated. we'll speak to our correspondent in brussels in just a moment. first, let's take a look at what is on the table. turkey says it will be taking in so-called irregular migrants, all of them who cross from its territory into the e.u. for every migrant sent back to turkey, the e.u. would then

take in a syrian refugee from turkey, but only syrian refugees. this is the so-called one for one deal. turkey would also increase its efforts to stop illegal immigration, but there are proposals and they are only proposals and a lot could change over two days with so many competing interests. >> brussels in crisis mode yet again, the row over the plan to send refugees back to turkey are in full swing despite support at the e.u. council. >> we support the idea of turning people back to the greek islands back to turkey. that is a good idea. >> human rights activists are sounding the alarm bells in brussels. they feel that a deal with turkey could result in mass deportations. >> turkey can be a safe country, not only because there is violation in turkey, but also even when you look at only

if i may say so, the geneva convention, they're not respecting that at all. >> but not only turkey, also the situation on the greek mass don'tan border is a concern for european leaders. more than 10,000 refugees are stranded here in dire conditions. >> we have to face a humanitarian crisis because of the unilateral actions in the balkan route. this is the same for a common culture. >> with all of that hanging in the balance, german chancellor angela merkel expressed slight concerns. >> complicated negotiations but the basic direction is clear. i agree with council presidentalls who say they are cautiously optimistic with emphasis on cautious. everybody is expecting a long night in brussels and the work continues when the turkish

prime minister joins the negotiations on friday morning. >> with a long night ahead, let's bring in our correspondent in brussels, max hoffman, max, thanks for being with us. first off, how is this one for one exchange program supposed to work and will it in fact lead to the hope for reduction in migrants? >> the thinking is and that's what german government officials repeated towards us that this would very quickly reduce the number coming over the aegean sea because there were a reason to stay in the camps, a legal path into the e.u. we hear, that's the numbers we saw in the latest draft, we're only talking about 72,000 refugees that should be resettled from turkey. after that, they would have to talk about more. that's the number that apparently, at least at the start of the summit was in there. if you consider there are 2.7 million refugees in turkey, that's not a whole lot.

this is questionable whether it's incentive for syrian refugees to not take that very dangerous yet more promising path over the aegean sea. brian: a low number, 72,000 compared to the million here in germany. could that be an incentive for the east european countries, for example, who said no to taking in any refugees at all? reporter: there is another word in that draft. let me remind you all of this could change over the course of the evening. you have the word voluntary. nobody would be forced, none of the e.u. states to take in syrian refugees apart from the small number that was agreed upon last year. the other countries that are willing to take in syrian refugees are hoping that once the outer border is secure, you don't have this illegal migration, then the eastern european countries might be persuaded to take in more refugees. so far, we don't really see any signs of that happening.

brian: max, what about turkey, part of its price tag for this deal is visa-free travel for its citizens into the e.u. is that a negotiable element for ankara or a must have? max: when the leaders said it, visa legalization was agreed upon earlier. it was supposed to come into effect at the end of the year, so in fall. so the turkish government wants to push it forward and has it as early as june. that poses problems on a technical level. they still have to fulfill lots of criterias to make that happen, but the political will, it seems at least is more or less there, although there are, as you said, some that think that this will basically replace a migrant wave by avisa wave, so many turkish citizens coming into the e.u. with avisa. it seem like the e.u. leaders,

the majority is ready to do that and give that to turkey because it is one of their, the central things they really want and need to sell this deal also at home. brian: some movements among the many questions out there. thanks, max. the arrival of so many migrants in europe has been causing social frictions including here in germany. last year germany took in more than 1 million refugees. that's a record number. many people across the country continuing to support and help migrants, there has been a rise in anti-migrant violence. refugees have been victims of attacks and refugee shelters, the target of arson and vandalism. in 2014, there were 199 attacks on asylum seeking housing documented. that number increased last year five-fold so just over 1,000 attacks registered by federal police. the vast majority of these

attacks were carried out by individuals affiliated with violent extremist groups on the far right. they include two men and one woman who carried out an arson attack on a refugee shelter in northern germany last summer. a regional court charged them with attempted murder and they were sentenced today. one of the men received eight years in prison, the other seven years. the woman involved in the attack 4 1/2 years. reporter: the presiding judge made a clear declaration. he has no doubt that the accused committed a hate crime. the state court in hannover sentenced both male defendants to seven and eight years imprisonment. the female defendant got 4 1/2 years. they have been convicted of attempted murder for their arson attack last august. >> the court used clear language to confront the defense's bid to explain this far right behavior in the context of a fear of an unflux of foreigners that will change the country. the court rejects this outright

and states in no uncertain terms that this was a hate crime based on right--wing extremist attitudes. the court found the defendants had little regard for the lives of their intended victims. a young family from zimbabwe living here was not injured in the arson attack. the defense attorney for the main suspect expressed doubts about the justification of the verdict. i fear this is an attempt to set an example with this incident. it's a growing problem. this is just one of many such attacks. if the case goes to appeal, germany's highest court will take up the verdict. brian: a few hours before the e.u. migration summit ban began, the german government closed the embassey in ankara.

berlin had received concrete information about an imminent terrorist attack. this is the latest development in turkey's deteriorating security situation with ankara battling both islamic state, jihaddists and kurdish militia. >> she has lived in istanbul for four years. her children go to a german school. today it was closed because of the terror alert. >> my oldest son feels unsafe, even with all of the police presence. my younger son is a bit more at ease. since school is closed today, there is awhole other dimension to the situation because the warning was so concrete. there is also a stronger police presence at the german consulate in istanbul. all german cultural and diplomatic offices remain

closed today. the origin of the terror alert is unclear. the authorities did not want to comment on the nature of the threat or the nationalities of possible attackers. shop keepers learned of the alert through media reports. police told us they had the situation under control and there was no cause for concern, that's why we didn't close for business today. locals and visitors had a range of reactions to the growing threat of terrorism in turkey. it's the terrorists that should be afraid, not us, they should fear the police and the whole nation. we came for a soccer match between two turkish teams and now we're a bit scared. my colleagues want to go to the stadium by train, but i would rather take a taxi because i'm afraid something might happen. she loves living here. she hopes istanbul will become

calm again and that her children's school will reopen soon. brian: to brazil now where the former president was sworn in as the current president's chief of staff. shortly afterwards, a court injunction suspended that appointment. a federal judge said him taking office would derail a judicial investigation. he was usually popular when he stepped down as president five years ago, but his popularity has plummeted since being linked to a corruption scandal involving the state oil company. reporter: with the stroke of a pen, she followed through on her decision to appoint her predecessor as her right-hand man. she hopes her move to install silva will tamp down the controversial into a probe of corruption at the highest levels of the brazilian government. as a minister, he would be immune from any criminal investigation. protests immediately erupted in the room. the president fired back at her

critics calling their accusations groundless. >> shaking brazilian society on the basis of untruths, shady maneuvers and widely criticized practices violates constitutional guarantees. it creates extremely serious precedents. >> the scandal has been headline news in brazil for months. many say the move was tone deaf. >> in the first place what happened was an affront to the people. it was arrogance, a message that what we do is not important. i'm going to do what i want to do and that's it. >> she cheated brazil because it was her fault we were going through these financial problems. everyone now that. we have an enormous debt. she is cheating us. the controversy was fueled

further following the phone conversations. many believe that the two politicians have been involved in backdoor dealings involving the state oil company. within minutes of the swearing-in, a federal judge provisionally suspended his appointment. the government is nearly certain to appeal that decision. protesters have vowed to continue their actions until he is either forced out or impeached. brian: in syria, a group of syrian kurds have declared a federal region in the country's north that would unify territory already run by kurds on the border to turkey. both syria and turkey rejected the move. the u.s. is backing kurdish fighters and will not notice self-ruled zones. still to come on the show, the highs and lows of luft han is a, why the german airline stock

is tanking right now despite soaring profits. we'll have all that and some sports as well. don't go away. stay with d.w. >> what do you think, what do you get for 50 cents? >> for 50 cents? >> not a lot. >> did you know it costs 50 cents to feed one hungry child for one full day.

with the share the meal app, you can share a meal with children in need. smartphone outnumber hungry children. imagine the fact that you and your friends could have. together we can end global hunger. please download the app. broin welcome again. our top stories at this hour, a major e.u. turkey summit is underway in brussels to try to stem the flow of migrants to europe. chancellor angela merkel is cautiously optimistic about sealing a deal with turkey. u.s. secretary of state john kerry says the so-called islamic state's slaughter of christians and others amounts to genocide. kerry declared that the militant group was genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology and actions. congress has been demanding that the obama administration

report on its investigations into the terror group and recognize that it seeks to exterminate religious minorities. kerry says the u.s. will do all it can to stop i.s. now the timing of kerry's declaration came at a bit of a surprise. as recently as tuesday, the u.s. state department was saying that it needed longer to gather more facts to make its declaration. authorities in iraq's region of kurdistan have been collecting evidence of alleged i.s. atrocities. that region's representatives to the u.s. tweeted these grateful words. we thank the secretary for delaying i.s. crimes as genocide. iraq remains a land of mass murder. meanwhile, there is quite a debate on social media over who benefits most from this genocide declaration, some are saying it could be used to justify calls for more aggressive military intervention in iraq and in syria.

others, though, say it could be used to argue in favor of the united states taking in more refugees from those countries. this tweet here from a human rights expert, it's hard to argue now that groups who are targeted for total destruction should not be given priority for resettlement. let's get some business now, it looks like there are turbulent times. helen: thanks very much, brian. fasten your seat belts on the stock exchange. it performed in the worst in european trading on thursday and that, despite soaring profits last year, traders had affected in the good news that said they were disappointed that the dividend didn't follow suit. the chief executive says 2015 was challenging and is cautious about this year perhaps with good reason, me strikes are on the horizon. reporter: passengers were left

stranded, confused and angry last november. unions had called the airlines 20,000 cabin strike out in the biggest strike in history. it came to 213 roes last year. on the other side of the balance sheet. luft than is a made savings. global all prices plunged. passenger numbers at the luft han is a groups subsidiary scariers were up. they booked a record profit for 2015. the c.e.o. didn't want to talk about records. to him, the german crash in march of last year was most important. >> it was the most difficult year in our history. and the saddest we had that overshadows everything else. he was also tight-litted about this year's outlook, in

particular because the competition in the airline industry has intensified. it's never been as hard as it is now especially because we had totally different structures. we had airlines where they were part of the infrastructure and budget carriers in europe. although management expects profits to increase slightly this year, there will still be more cost cuts. 1,500 administered jobs are axed in the coming years. the airline is also facing potentially huge compensation payments to relatives of the crash, the first lawsuits are already in the works. helena: staying in germany, and the company is experiencing a housing construction boom. buildig permits for 309,000 dwellings were issued last year. to put that into perspective, that's over 8% more than in the previous year. one reason for this is the growing population, more people

need more places to live, but perhaps it can also be attributed to the fact that when it comes to investing, there are few other alternatives to make your money grow. reporter: many germans are wondering what to do with their savings these days, keep them in the bank or invest in a 3 million euro condominium. low interest rates make it easier for more and more people in germany to invest in real estate, up marketplaces like this and basic apartments are selling fast. applications for residential building permits declined from 2006 until 2009, but after the financial crisis, the smart money flowed into real estate creating a building boom not seen in germany since the turn of the century. demand is still outstripping supply, so prices are continuing to rise in many cities including berlin which has also been discovered by foreign investors.

helena: let's take a look at cybersecurity now. if you think that all of that coding and hacking doesn't really concern you, you might want to think again. cyber criminals are getting more sophisticated and targeting hospitals. the sector is one of the most vulnerable and of course nobody wants to be undergoing surgery and running the risk of a machine shutdown due to malware. hackers recently hit a u.s. hospital demanding a ransom and they got it. german hospitals have also been targeted. reporter: patient data at your fingertips. at the st. lucas hospital, doctors have direct access to digital files. including the results of all examinations. >> the results right on my ipad so it's quick. reporter: that is if everything works. earlier this year, the

hospital's computer system was infected by a virus called tesla crypt. experts at software security group know this problem. it is something they deal with on a regular basis. >> when this ransom ware answers the computer, it encrips the user's files. you get a message saying the data is still there but cannot be accessed unless you pay a fee. >> even small towns have been victims of ransom ware. the town hall paid the ransom. >> i think it was a mistake because we shouldn't let ourselves be blackmailed. >> imagine if everyone got away with this, we would turn into a about a nana republic. >> law enforcement experts agree that paying ransom is the wrong way to respond. >> it encourages repeat offenses and makes the blackmailers greedy.

we should void this at all costs. reporter: cyber crime is on the rise. security engineers spot 300 mall wear programs every day. the digital underground has become its own business sector. it offers a variety of services. there are providers of mall wear that is preconfigured or upgradeable at a price. it's like buying a car. st. lucas paid no ransom. the hospital shut down its computers and restored files from a backup. staff will now get further training. >> all you can do is increase security. as far as the consequences are concerned, we are definitely more vulnerable today than we used to be if our i.t. system stops working. it's a bit like driverless cars. a lot of people like the idea, but imagine what would happen if the whole thing breaks down. reporter: the computers are u and rning again at st. lucas

and n da was lost. doctors armed wh tablets are once again making the rounds. helena: that's your latest business news from me. brian has you covered with the rest of your world news. brian: a big baseball game coming up, preparations in the final stage for the visit a u.s. pro baseball team to cuba next week, the game between the tampa bay rays and cuba's national team includes president barack obama and raul castro up in the stands. major league baseball sent tons of clay and baseball equipment to help havana get ready. reporter: from on h havana's latin america stadium doesn't look that different to some of the cathedrals of baseball in the states, but up close, it's a little rough around the edges, not good enough, says major league baseball or more gently put, maybe we can help spruce things up a bit with shiny new bases and 60 tons of baseball clay to

make sure balls hit near those bases bounce true. >> we're excited for the opportunity to bring this facility up to a standard that will be exciting for the president and for the country. reporter: the stadium has seen better days, but the field, cook says, is in much better shape than in 1999 when the baltimore orioles teams visited, the relations now are much better as well. >> given that baseball is the national sport, both in cuba and the united states, this could spark a little more or accelerate things, not only in terms of political relations, but also in sporting relations. reporter: political relations will undoubtedly dictate the speed of sporting relations, but 60 tons of imported american clay to mix with cuban sand and silt could go a long way to bridging the 150 kilometers between two once distant countries.

brian: let's get you a reminder of our top story. a major e.u. turkey summit is underway in brussels to try to stem the flow of migrants could europe. chancellor merkel is cautiously optimistic about sealing a deal with turkey. that's all we have time for. from all of us here from berlin. thanks for being with us, more news at the top of the hour. bye-bye. x0

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